A Wave of emotions heading into Crown finals

Harness racing trainer Andy Gath will fill the float Saturday night with talented types but is wary that all the ability in the world can still leave you empty handed when the last TAB Breeders Crown final is run and won.

The leading horseman has Catch A Wave (Captaintreacherous) with all the talent but the trickiest of draws, and pair Lifes A Beach and Yambukian with plum draws but a wave of talent on their outside.

They’re delicious scenarios that further feed into what should be an outstanding night’s racing at Tabcorp Park Melton. Click here to see the fields.

“They’ve all got hopes, but I know how hard they are to win,” Gath told Trots Talk. “I’ve got a good batch of horses in, but you can go home with no winners and have performed really well. The competition’s so strong in Victoria at the moment.”

The most likely path to a Crown is the aforementioned Catch A Wave, the $1.80 favourite for the Mimosa Homes two-year-old pacing colts and geldings final.

“He’s probably shown he’s got the most ability of any two-year-old who’s been produced so far this season, but he’s his own worst enemy at times,” Gath said of the winner of five of his six starts.

“He’s got a few little quirks. He doesn’t circle at the start of the race, hence why he’s been put out of the draw and has drawn barrier 13.

“He can pull a bit, he’s a little bit hot and cold, he can hang in, hang out – he can do it all. He’s got a few bags of tricks, but for sheer ability I’ve got no doubt he’s the best horse in the race.”

It has Gath reaching into his own bag of tricks for answers and he’s optimistic they can give him his best chance.

“We did change things around last week and we thought he was pretty good and we’ll probably go with what we did (again),” he said.

“He had a hood on to keep him quiet and stop him from pulling, pull-down blinds, which (driver) Kate (Gath) pulled at the 600, so he concentrates a bit better and probably goes straight.

“It’s not an ideal draw, but it could be a good draw for him. If he’s drawn off the arm and you have to use him early, he can get fired up. We’re resigned to the fact that’s where we’re drawn, where we’re going to start from.

“It’s not the end of the world, he’s good enough to make his own luck. He’s in really good order.”

Should success come the champagne will still be bubbling when Gath’s attention turns to Yambukian, who contests the following race – the IRT Australia final for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

With six wins from his 11 outings, the Bettors Delight gelding’s been in the breeze in each of his last three starts but the gate one draw gifts driver Kate Gath an easier path home.

The main question is, can he hold out Act Now, who’s dominated the class this season and his gate five draw will have many expecting another all-the-way success.

“(Yambukian’s) been running great races from bad barriers and off the fence. He gets an opportunity to do that on the fence and he showed Saturday night he has got really good gate speed,” Gath said.

“Even though he didn’t cross from barrier seven he was the first horse out. If he’s quick enough to lead he’ll be holding the lead, we’ll be leaving nothing to chance.

“His work the last couple of weeks, he’s been airborne at home, he’s really in the zone. If Act Now’s good enough to sit outside us and beat us, so be it. Our initial thing will be to try and lead with him and we expect that will be our best opportunity to win the race.”

And then there’s Lifes A Beach (Bettors Delight), who Josh Dickie will drive for Gath in the following race, the Villawood Properties final for three-year-old pacing fillies.

After a tough semi-final where she led up the three-wide line and finished impressively to qualify amid an elite field, she also gets her opportunity with a gate one draw, directly inside Beach Music and with Bettor Twist looming.

“When she beat Bettor Twist (in New Zealand) she had this barrier draw – she drew number one and used the sprint lane to beat her,” Gath said.

“We know how deep the three-year-old fillies (final) is, it’s a great bunch of fillies and for her to be a winning chance she needed to draw barrier one, which she has.

“First up she overraced, but ran a great race sitting in the death, and last week to come from last and have to run a 53.6 half just to qualify. She just snuck in by a few centimetres. She’s got the barrier draw that brings her into being a winning hope.”

Hear more from Gath, including his best on the program, in this week’s Trots Talk: